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How is it Wednesday already? I am behind on many things, not least of which are DW reading and comments. The to-do list is going to wait, though, because it's somehow t-shirt weather today: breezy and cool, so I am going to post this and go outside until it gets dark.
What I Just Finished Reading
The Broken Raven – Joseph Elliott
The Broken Raven is the sequel to The Good Hawk, and equally as good as the original. I don’t want to say much about its plot, because I want everyone to read these books, and without being spoiled for anything. But I will say that many familiar faces return from the first, and Elliott introduces an excellent new protagonist and several secondary characters. The world building is as fresh and fascinating as ever. These books would have swept me off my feet had I read them as a child, and they are an absolute delight to read as an adult.
The House On Vesper Sands – Paraic O’Donnell
I first heard about The House On Vesper Sands a little more than a week ago, in a short review from which I gathered that it is a mystery set in Victorian London and featuring 19th century British occultism, and thus highly RTMI. Apparently, it was originally published in 2018 and I am distraught that it took three years for the US edition to come out because it is good. It is so, so good. Guys, I loved this book. Absolutely loved it. I read it in two days and spent the next two unable to get into anything else, because I just wanted to magically be able to read Vesper Sands for the first time again.
The mystery is well done, and observant readers can puzzle it out ahead of the climax thanks to clues O’Donnell parcels out throughout the chapters, which are told from multiple character POVs. And the novel has a great cast of characters; O’Donnell masterfully uses a few broad strokes to introduce each in such a way that your mind fills in the details. Secondary and even tertiary characters are as intriguing as the mains. O'Donnell's narrative voice is both period appropriate and highly readable. The scene setting is as atmospheric and the plot as engaging as I’d hoped, but I was not expecting this novel to be funny. And oh, it is very funny. The repartee is some of the best I’ve encountered and, as someone who routinely bemoans how every other book these days has to be part of a “chronicle” or “saga,” or whatever, I think it’s saying something when I say, Please give me another ten volumes with Inspector Cutter. I definitely recommend this one.
What I Am Currently Reading
The Strangler Vine – M.J. Carter
The Strangler Vine sync read is heading into its final week! In the spirit of fair warning, it's been a solidly busy week, so the discussion post for the final four chapters may go up a day later than planned. (And I will also reply to comments!) In the meantime, here are links to the discussion posts for chapters 1-4, chapters 5-8, and chapters 9-12.
Complete Book of Ceremonial Magic – Lon Milo Duquette & David Shoemaker, eds.
This week I read "The Magick of Abra-Melin" by Marcus Katz. It was much better written than last week's chapter, but a) I rather doubt whether the people who claim to have flawlessly carried the entire thing out according to the original specifications have actually done so, and b) the whole thing just seems like an intensive meditation retreat with more bells and whistles attached.
I also got halfway through the following chapter on Enochian magic.
Things In Jars – Jess Kidd
I’ve been saving this book for when I wanted a surefire thing, having read glowing reviews of it in 2020. Alas, my thoughts on Things In Jars are anything but glowing, primarily due to the overly cutesy narrative voice Kidd uses for the first fifth of the novel that had me grinding my teeth it was so bad. Things get somewhat better once she drops this affectation, but I think the book’s still heading for a Big Reveal that she intends to be surprising but is pretty obviously telegraphed. I’ve only got two-thirds left to go, so we shall see how I ultimately feel about it next week.
Gideon The Ninth – Tamsyn Muir
This is...better than I was expecting? I began reading with some trepidation, given the publisher and very mixed reactions from my booknerd friends. So far, though, the worldbuilding is eerie and intriguing in equal measure, and none of the characters have grated on me (a potential area of concern). I’ll probably read it fairly slowly as I’m still in the midst of my House On Vesper Sands afterglow, but so far so good.
What I'm Reading Next
This week, I acquired Laura Carlin’s The Wicked Cometh, which I hope will agree with me more than Things In Jars.
これで以上です。
What I Just Finished Reading
The Broken Raven – Joseph Elliott
The Broken Raven is the sequel to The Good Hawk, and equally as good as the original. I don’t want to say much about its plot, because I want everyone to read these books, and without being spoiled for anything. But I will say that many familiar faces return from the first, and Elliott introduces an excellent new protagonist and several secondary characters. The world building is as fresh and fascinating as ever. These books would have swept me off my feet had I read them as a child, and they are an absolute delight to read as an adult.
The House On Vesper Sands – Paraic O’Donnell
I first heard about The House On Vesper Sands a little more than a week ago, in a short review from which I gathered that it is a mystery set in Victorian London and featuring 19th century British occultism, and thus highly RTMI. Apparently, it was originally published in 2018 and I am distraught that it took three years for the US edition to come out because it is good. It is so, so good. Guys, I loved this book. Absolutely loved it. I read it in two days and spent the next two unable to get into anything else, because I just wanted to magically be able to read Vesper Sands for the first time again.
The mystery is well done, and observant readers can puzzle it out ahead of the climax thanks to clues O’Donnell parcels out throughout the chapters, which are told from multiple character POVs. And the novel has a great cast of characters; O’Donnell masterfully uses a few broad strokes to introduce each in such a way that your mind fills in the details. Secondary and even tertiary characters are as intriguing as the mains. O'Donnell's narrative voice is both period appropriate and highly readable. The scene setting is as atmospheric and the plot as engaging as I’d hoped, but I was not expecting this novel to be funny. And oh, it is very funny. The repartee is some of the best I’ve encountered and, as someone who routinely bemoans how every other book these days has to be part of a “chronicle” or “saga,” or whatever, I think it’s saying something when I say, Please give me another ten volumes with Inspector Cutter. I definitely recommend this one.
What I Am Currently Reading
The Strangler Vine – M.J. Carter
The Strangler Vine sync read is heading into its final week! In the spirit of fair warning, it's been a solidly busy week, so the discussion post for the final four chapters may go up a day later than planned. (And I will also reply to comments!) In the meantime, here are links to the discussion posts for chapters 1-4, chapters 5-8, and chapters 9-12.
Complete Book of Ceremonial Magic – Lon Milo Duquette & David Shoemaker, eds.
This week I read "The Magick of Abra-Melin" by Marcus Katz. It was much better written than last week's chapter, but a) I rather doubt whether the people who claim to have flawlessly carried the entire thing out according to the original specifications have actually done so, and b) the whole thing just seems like an intensive meditation retreat with more bells and whistles attached.
I also got halfway through the following chapter on Enochian magic.
Things In Jars – Jess Kidd
I’ve been saving this book for when I wanted a surefire thing, having read glowing reviews of it in 2020. Alas, my thoughts on Things In Jars are anything but glowing, primarily due to the overly cutesy narrative voice Kidd uses for the first fifth of the novel that had me grinding my teeth it was so bad. Things get somewhat better once she drops this affectation, but I think the book’s still heading for a Big Reveal that she intends to be surprising but is pretty obviously telegraphed. I’ve only got two-thirds left to go, so we shall see how I ultimately feel about it next week.
Gideon The Ninth – Tamsyn Muir
This is...better than I was expecting? I began reading with some trepidation, given the publisher and very mixed reactions from my booknerd friends. So far, though, the worldbuilding is eerie and intriguing in equal measure, and none of the characters have grated on me (a potential area of concern). I’ll probably read it fairly slowly as I’m still in the midst of my House On Vesper Sands afterglow, but so far so good.
What I'm Reading Next
This week, I acquired Laura Carlin’s The Wicked Cometh, which I hope will agree with me more than Things In Jars.
これで以上です。
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